Senior Buyer

Description

Position Summary

The Senior Buyer is responsible for the timely, accurate, and cost-effective procurement of raw materials, tooling, manufacturing supplies, and assigned outside services required to support A1J Technologies’ precision manufacturing operations. As A1J advances from a traditional job-shop model toward a scalable Tier 1 supplier for commercial aerospace and defense customers, this position strengthens supplier reliability, material traceability, purchasing discipline, and delivery performance.

Reporting to the Supply Chain & Logistics Manager, the Senior Buyer executes sourcing and purchasing activities, negotiates with suppliers, expedites critical requirements, and works cross-functionally with Planning & Production Control, Manufacturing Engineering, Production, Quality, Logistics, and Finance. This is a senior individual-contributor role; purchasing strategy, staffing, and departmental leadership remain with the Supply Chain & Logistics Manager.

1. Procurement Execution & Material Availability

- Execute purchase requisitions and release accurate purchase orders for assigned raw materials, tooling, consumables, MRO items, and approved outside services within delegated authority.
- Review demand, lead times, specifications, inventory availability, and production priorities before placing orders.
- Proactively track open purchase orders, obtain supplier acknowledgments, and expedite shortages or delivery risks affecting production commitments.
- Coordinate substitutions, split deliveries, and alternate sourcing only through the required Engineering, Quality, and commercial approval processes.

2. Supplier Sourcing, Negotiation & Performance

- Identify and qualify prospective suppliers in coordination with Quality and the applicable supplier approval process.
- Solicit and evaluate quotations based on total value, lead time, technical requirements, quality, delivery, and commercial terms.
- Negotiate pricing, lead times, minimum order quantities, and terms within delegated purchasing authority.
- Track supplier delivery and responsiveness; document recurring issues and support supplier improvement and corrective-action activities.

3. Aerospace, Defense & Purchasing Compliance

- Ensure purchase orders accurately communicate applicable drawings, specifications, revisions, certification requirements, and customer/quality flow downs as provided by authorized functions.
- Purchase from approved sources when required; verify required supplier approvals and coordinate with Quality on supplier status and special-process requirements.
- Support material traceability and required certifications, including mill test reports, certificates of conformity, and applicable lot/heat identification.
- Maintain purchasing records to support AS9100-aligned processes, audit readiness, product safety, configuration control, and prevention of suspect/counterfeit items.
- Escalate export-control, domestic sourcing, customer-approved-source, and other contract-specific requirements to designated compliance owners; do not independently interpret or waive requirements.

4. ERP, Data Accuracy & Purchasing Controls

- Maintain accurate supplier, purchase order, promised date, price, and delivery information in the ERP/MRP system.
- Ensure purchasing transactions, revisions, acknowledgments, and documentation are completed accurately and promptly.
- Partner with Receiving, Inventory/Material Control, and Finance to resolve receiving discrepancies, invoice mismatches, and open purchase order issues.
- Identify opportunities to standardize purchasing workflows, reduce manual followup, and improve supplier and material visibility.

5. Cross-Functional Production Support

- Coordinate with Planning & Production Control on demand changes, critical shortages, and recovery schedules.
- Work with Manufacturing Engineering and CNC Programming to confirm purchasing requirements for raw material, tooling, and manufacturing support items.
- Partner with Quality and Receiving on rejected, damaged, incomplete, or uncertified incoming material; support supplier returns and corrective actions.
- Collaborate with Logistics and outside-processing coordinators on material movements, subcontracted operations, and supplier commitments where assigned.
- Communicate procurement risks and mitigation actions clearly and promptly to stakeholders.

6. Cost Improvement & Continuous Improvement

- Identify documented savings through competitive sourcing, supplier consolidation, negotiated pricing, and process improvements without compromising product conformity or delivery.
- Analyze recurring expedite charges, lead-time variance, shortages, and purchasing inefficiencies; recommend sustainable corrective actions.
- Support standard work, supplier scorecards, purchasing KPIs, and disciplined continuous-improvement initiatives.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

- Supplier On-Time Delivery – delivery against confirmed supplier commitments for assigned purchases.
- Material Availability – number and duration of production shortages attributable to purchasing execution.
- Purchase Order Accuracy & Compliance – complete, correct, approved POs with required specifications and flow-downs.
- Open PO / Expedite Management – timely follow-up, accurate promise dates, and escalation of at-risk orders.
- Purchase Price Performance – documented price variance and validated cost savings.
- Supplier Issue Resolution – timeliness of discrepancy resolution and corrective action follow-up.
- ERP Data Accuracy – accurate supplier, pricing, acknowledgment, and delivery records.

Work Environment

- Primarily office-based with regular interaction with production, receiving, inventory, and quality personnel.
- Occasional supplier visits and schedule flexibility may be required to support production priorities.

Benefits

- Medical Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Paid Time Off
- 401(k) Retirement Plan
- 401(k) Employer Match

Requirements

Qualifications

- 5+ years of progressive purchasing or procurement experience in precision manufacturing, machining, or another complex manufacturing environment.
- Experience purchasing metals, raw material, machining tooling, industrial supplies, or subcontracted manufacturing services.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple suppliers, urgent requirements, changing production priorities, and purchase order follow-through.
- Strong supplier negotiation, quote evaluation, cost analysis, and expediting skills.
- Ability to interpret purchase requirements, technical specifications, drawing revisions, and required procurement documentation.
- Working knowledge of ERP/MRP purchasing transactions and proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other standard business applications.
- Strong written communication, attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and cross-functional collaboration.

Preferred Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience is valued.
- Experience in aerospace, defense, or other regulated precision manufacturing environments.
- Familiarity with AS9100/ISO 9001 purchasing controls, approved supplier lists, supplier quality requirements, and traceability documentation.
- Knowledge of common aerospace materials, material certifications, special processing, and customer-specific purchasing flow-downs.
- Experience with JobBoss or comparable manufacturing ERP/MRP software.
- Experience supporting supplier scorecards, inventory optimization, lean/continuous improvement, and purchasing process standardization.
- Professional supply chain certification (such as CPSM or CPIM) or equivalent training.